


The Team’s Many Issues—The Truth of Dare Job

by crayonbreakygal



Category: Leverage
Genre: F/M, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 02:30:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8269312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayonbreakygal/pseuds/crayonbreakygal
Summary: Things are not right with the Leverage crew.  Takes place around the time of The Office Job, season four.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many fics going on right now. A big one, one I have to finish and no I have not forgotten to finish it. And a few more smaller ones. I think I went a little OOC on this one, but so what. Would they actually share their feelings? Only if they were dared, possibly. Enjoy!

The Team’s Many Issues—The Truth of Dare Job

Takes place around the time of The Office Job, season four

“Did we just?”

“What just…?”

They both sat on the bed, dumbfounded that it had happened.  Surely neither one had considered that this could happen.

Nate went one way, Sophie the other.  They couldn’t look each other in the eye.  It was almost dead silent in the room, even with the city alive right outside the window.

“I need a drink,” Nate finally said, leaving Sophie in peace.

Sophie plopped down on Nate’s bed and sighed. They’d been connecting so much better the past few weeks.  They really had connected right after the potato job, then nothing.  His eyes always raked her body, his hands could not keep from touching her.  Now this.  What to do?

Maybe he was overthinking everything.  Nate tended to do that, get in his head where he couldn’t see the big picture.  The big picture in this instance fell flat.  Sure, things were done.  People were satisfied.  Only she was not satisfied in the least.  She’d have to take the initiative to make sure it bloody well didn’t happen again.

Shopping was in her future.  She’d make him see that indeed, she was in this whatever they were doing thing.  It just wasn’t a one night stand, something they could think fondly of down the road. 

 

“Sophie, um, what is this?” Parker asked.

Parker had gone through her shopping bag, which wasn’t really that large to begin with, but that didn’t matter.

Parker held up the item in front of her and examined it.

“Doesn’t really cover much.”

“Isn’t that the point?”

Parker got her “ooh” face, then shoved the garment back inside the bag.

“Do guys like this kind of stuff? Aren’t they just gonna take it off once they see it?”

Sophie had gotten into discussions with Parker regarding intimate things before.  The girl really did need someone to help her along with that matter.

“It’s the allure of what’s underneath. If they know what you have on, against your skin, well, then all they think about all day is you.”

“And having sex.”

“I guess that’s kind of the point.”

“Well, they’re gonna get some anyway.”

Sophie knew that Parker was right.  Men did think that way.  Was it a game that women played?  If she showed up in a t-shirt and jeans would a man still want her? Probably.  If she showed up in a short skirt and cleavage?  Most definitely. 

“Maybe it’s a game then.”

“If Nate showed up in tight blue jeans and a tight shirt, would that do it for you?”

Sophie almost did a spit take when Parker said that.  Learning not to take a drink when Parker was talking was on her agenda now.  She guessed that the thief was right.  Double standard?  Apparently so. 

“Don’t tell me if Hardison showed up here with one of those tight shirts he loves to wear, it doesn’t entice you?”

Parker looked at her strangely.  “No.”

“And what about Eliot?  Any time he takes his shirt off, you look.”

“Yeah, to see if he has any more scars.  We compare sometimes.”

“Compare?”

“Yeah. He always wins.  I wonder if the three of them compare scars.”

Sophie giggled.  “I hope not.”

“Nah.  They’re all so uptight.”

“Eliot is uptight?”

Parker stared at her for the moment.  “Not as much, but still.”

“We should do an experiment?” Sophie came out with as she wandered the room.

“How so?”

“Wear something alluring.  I’ll wear something that completely covers me.”

Parker smiled at her challenge.  “It can’t be tight though.”

“No.  The rules will be one of us will dress a certain way. The other will not.”

“Who goes first?”

Sophie was up for this challenge.  The three men were always driving her to distraction.  It would be fun to see how they reacted to the two of them playing them.

“Let’s flip a coin.”

They proceeded to flip to see who would dress which way.

“Ok, Parker.  You won. Your choice.”

“I want you to dress in the sluttiest dress you have.”

“Not difficult for me.  Plaid shirt, jeans, hair up. No makeup.”

“Seriously? That’s a challenge?”

“Then we’ll compare notes.”

 

As Sophie walked into the apartment, all eyes turned to her. The dress was so short, she had a difficult time keeping it decent. The plunging neckline almost didn’t cover up her breasts.  She’d contemplated wearing some of that tape that kept everything in place, but decided against it.  If things were to fall out, then so be it. She’d not tug on it any more than necessary.  Her hair and makeup was done to perfection, heels as high as she could wear without possibly falling down. 

Hardison immediately spilled his orange soda across the counter. 

“Do we have a con planned that I did not know about?” he squeaked out as he cleaned up his mess.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering,” he drew out, trying not to look at her.

“Oh, hey, Soph, I…” Eliot could not complete the sentence he had planned to say to her. 

“Good morning, Eliot.”

“It’s afternoon.”

“Yes, I do think it is.”

Setting her bag and keys down on the counter, she went to the coffee pot to pour herself a drink.  Both men were still glancing her way, like she’d lost her mind.

She could hear them whispering, like they were both attempting to figure out if she had a hot date or something else was going on entirely.

Parker walked into the apartment, or crept into the apartment, because there she was directly in the middle of the two guys, arms extended to clap them both on the back.

“Hey.”

Both of them jumped at her voice.

“Geez, Parker. Do not do that,” Eliot chided.

Sophie turned to see Parker in a large plaid shirt, baggy to the point of covering most of her.  Her hair was in a messy bun, minimal makeup because they didn’t want the guys to know what they were doing. 

“I miss something.”

“Maybe,” Hardison leaned over to tell her.

Eliot frowned her way, probably trying to ask her if she knew what in the world was going on.

Sophie sighed in frustration.  The two of them were treating Parker like one of the guys.  Even with her body fully covered, she was still beautiful in Sophie’s eyes. Parker made her way over to pick out a box of cereal.  The two of them stood together as the guys kept staring at them.

“Problem?” Parker asked as she shoved cereal in her mouth.

“No.”

“Nah.  We’re good.”

Both turned and headed in the other direction.  Nate came down the spiral staircase then, carrying some papers in his hands.  Once he caught sight of Sophie, the papers went flying.  Bending down, she helped him gather them back up. The other two guys watched as she did this.  Oh she was going to have a field day once this was over. 

“Soph?” Nate’s voice cracked.

“Yes, Nate.”  She used her throaty voice that she knew he liked and couldn’t resist.

“I’ll, you, I got it.”

His eyes bulged as he couldn’t take his eyes off her breasts. She’d never seen his ears get that red.

“Just trying to help.”

“Can I have that kind of help?” she heard Hardison say as he started to call up the info they needed for the next job.

As she grabbed her coffee to make her way over to the table, Nate steered her back into the kitchen.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s just, never mind.”

Throughout the day, all the men kept checking her out. They thought they were being discreet, but they weren’t.  Parker had faded into the woodwork that day.  Now if they played their cards right, the next day they’d turn the tables on the bastards and show them that they couldn’t objectify the women any longer.

 

“They’re playing us.”

“Indeed they are.”

“What’s their play?”

Nate and the two other men stood downstairs in the back of the bar.  Something was up with the two women, he could tell. Sophie had her con face on.  Parker wasn’t her usual perky self. 

“Anything about this next job stick out?” Nate asked his fellow teammates.

“Nothing. It’s a straight forward job, Nate.”

“So what do we do, guys?  Keep letting them play this game?” Hardison asked.

“No, we play their game.  But turn it back to them.”

“How so?” Eliot queried.

Nate explained to them what they were going to do the next day.  Both Eliot and Hardison agreed it would be worth a shot.

“Hey, but one of them is gonna dress like Sophie did today.”

“So we ignore that.”

Eliot grimaced at Nate.  “Yeah, right.  Your eyes were bugged out so far today, I thought that we’d have to pick them up off the floor.”

“Alright.  I know.  But to beat them at their game, we have to figure out a strategy.”

“Tomorrow, we act the same.  I’m sure they’ll switch it up. Then we hit them full force.”

Nate scowled at Hardison.  “Huh?”

“I bet that Parker is gonna play slutty mama tomorrow and Sophie will dress in rags.  We gotta play along tomorrow.  Act normally.  Which means act naturally.”

“Ok, Hardison. You take point on this.”

Nate was giving Hardison the lead on this to figure out.  They were trying to pull something over on the guys.  And it needed to stop.  Or resolve itself. 

 

“Morning,” Eliot called out, knowing that Nate intended to be up a bit earlier than normal.

“Not here yet.”

“I noticed.”

It didn’t take long for Parker to appear, low cut blouse and very tight jeans.  Her makeup was a bit heavier than she usually wore, her eyes smoky and alluring.  Eliot looked his fill, wondering if she bent over the top would come apart and give him a peek inside. 

What in hell were they trying to pull? It irked him that the two women would do something underhanded.  If they were doing what he thought they were doing, it was for a reason.  They all took each other for granted, all of them tangled up in each other’s lives at that moment in time.  They all depended on each other, possibly a little too much right then.  Were the women feeling a bit put out? Possibly used in some way? 

“Eliot, could you help me with this?” Parker requested.

She had her gear out and was trying to fit a part in that didn’t want to fit just right.  He knew she could do it on her own, but there she was, handing it to him like she needed the help.

“My fingers are sore,” she added.

His brain actually went there. 

“Climbing?” he inquired.

“No.  Not that.”

Her cheeks turned a bit pink.  Sophie came in right at that moment, distracting him from finishing the job that Parker had requested.  Now she was dressed in a large top, covering most of her body, hair all askew, minimal makeup. She waved at Eliot as he finished up the task for Parker.  Parker nodded her thanks and went back to feeding the line through another part.

Hardison made his appearance not long after, double taking when he saw what Parker was wearing. Even Nate’s head swiveled a few times, pointing to Parker behind her back while Sophie was busy with something. It was when she bent over to replace something in her bag that the three just stared, then abruptly turned when she looked up.

Eliot could see Nate’s reaction when he saw the grifter sit down at the counter, papers in front of her while she worked.  He couldn’t tell whether Sophie was a ticking time bomb or whether she would just ignore the boss.  Nate treated her as a ticking time bomb ready to go off at any moment.  He made her a cup of tea, setting out her favorite choices as he did.  Hardison followed Parker around like a puppy, asking her about things, never letting her out of his sight the whole day.  So business as usual.

As the three met later on that night, their strategy was set into play.  They’d see if the women reacted to what they had planned. Eliot didn’t know if he wanted that.  Nate seemed more on edge.  Hardison was looking very sad, like he didn’t want to mess anything up with Parker.  He’d see what would happen, and possibly play referee between everyone.  The two women were angry at them, probably for treating them wrong.  He’d fix it if he had to.  Or take the hits if that was what was coming.

 

“That’s what you’re wearing?” Hardison chided Nate.

“I’m not twenty anymore, Hardison.”

Hardison had picked out the tightest shirt he could find that he’d worn before.  Had to make it look legit.  And the jeans fit a bit tight, but he could manage the day alright.  Eliot had chosen a tight fitting t-shirt and those damn cowboy jeans he seemed to favor when he was on the prowl.

“I really don’t want to see him in the stuff we wear.”

Eliot was right. Nate probably had chosen correctly.

“Might hurt too.”

Hardison rolled his eyes at the older man. 

“Parker’s not gonna get it.”

“She doesn’t have to get it.”

“Sophie will.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.”

Nate was wondering if their play would make the women angry. Sophie was already angry enough from what had happened a few nights before.  They were on the outs anyway.  Why not make it worse?  Too early for a drink, he surmised.  Plus, that was not the image he was going for.

The three marched up to the apartment, and got ready for Sophie and Parker to appear.  It didn’t take long for the both of them to arrive, knowing that they had a full day of work ahead of them. Nate had called a meeting to make sure they were headed in the right direction. He knew that they were.  He just wanted to make sure they solved whatever was bothering them before it happened.

Both were dressed like they normally would. As Sophie set her bag down and Parker walked into the kitchen for cereal, Sophie looked up to see Nate at his desk.  Crossing over to get another cup of coffee, Sophie’s eyes watched him as he did.

“Nate, did you have a meeting today?”

“No,” he answered, knowing she’d wonder why he was in a suit and tie.

Her favorite suit, white shirt, blue tie.  He opted for this outfit, wondering if he made the mistake of not wearing the blue shirt instead. Of course she’d ripped some of the buttons off the last time he’d worn it in her haste to get him out of it. It was still at the cleaners.

Eliot brushed by her on the way to the kitchen also. Her eyes went wide as she followed him. The short sleeve shirt was tighter than he normally wore. 

“Mornin’, darlin’.”

Oh geez, Eliot was laying it on thick.  He’d have to tell the hitter next time to not seem so obvious.

“Good morning, Eliot.”

Sophie put her hand over her mouth, glancing now at Hardison, who had turned in his seat to pick something up. He watched as Sophie waved Parker her way, pulling her to the side and whispering in her ear. Parker frowned, looked Nate up and down, swiveled her head to Hardison in the next moment.  Then Eliot came back into the common area, pulling a hand through his hair as he carried his cup of coffee.  Parker shook her head in whatever agreement she had with Sophie. Then she crossed her arms over her front, looking angry.  Uh oh. Ticking time bomb then. 

He could see the argument they were each having, like they wanted to say something. Nate tried to school his reactions like he was working, looking at things he did every day. Sophie looked put out, tapping her foot against the ground in anger.  They indeed had stepped into it with the women.  Maybe his strategy wasn’t the best course of action.  

“Let’s get started,” he finally said, picking up his file and his coffee.

Slamming down her file, Sophie sat down at one end of the table with Parker as Eliot sat down next to him. That wasn’t the usual seating arrangement, but he was not going to complain.

“Run it, Hardison.”

Hardison looked at him, knowing that they’d never get through the session with the angry looks being tossed their way.

“This isn’t going to go away,” Eliot hesitated.

“Go away? What’s going to go away?” Parker asked, fists on the table.

“Ok, listen.”

“No, not ok, listen.  We need to get this out in the open.”

“Oh, like that’s gonna turn out great,” Hardison added.

“What do you mean?” Eliot criticized.

“Well, if you don’t know,” Sophie grumbled.

“Oh, we know,” Hardison boasted to the room.

His handle on the situation wasn’t the greatest that early in the morning.  He’d let it get out of control, just to see if Sophie and Parker would bite with what they had planned.  It had backfired, definitely backfired.

“Know what? You don’t know jack.”

Parker was fuming, Sophie snarling, Eliot looked like he wanted to bolt and Hardison just sighed, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Can we just not do this?” Nate started.

“Do what?” Sophie asked him pointedly.

“This isn’t solving anything.” 

Sophie rounded on Nate, getting up from her chair to come closer. “Solving what?  The fact that each one of you, every single time…”

“We’re sorry,” Eliot got out.  “We are totally sorry.  We’re Neanderthals.  We know that, Soph.  All three of us, in our own way, take the two of you for granted.  Not a day goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars that the two of you are here, right here.  And we sometimes mess that up.”

Eliot was the most mature being in the room right at that moment.

“We do it to each other every single damn day.  We gotta do better.  This ain’t gonna work unless we do better.”

Nate was thinking of that, how he could do better.  He could drink less, quit keeping Sophie at arms’ length, quit treating each of them like children sometimes.  He could stop being so critical, so controlling of the team.  He could look each one of them in the eye and tell him how much he appreciated them.

“He’s right.  We gotta fix this.  I know we been busy.  We have to think of each other.  And not treat each other like objects on a chess board,” Hardison agreed.

“The five of us. We’re all each other has,” Parker added, voice sounding more emotional. 

Nate got up to pace.  He had to think, what would be best to get them back on track.

“Maybe we’ve gotten too close, too in each other’s pockets as it were.”

“I am not gonna leave for six months,” Eliot said, almost like he was begging Nate to not suggest it.

“No one said that we had to leave each other for six months.”

“I’m outta here.”  Parker started to bolt, but Sophie’s hand on her arm stayed her.

“We just wanted to tell the three of you that we kind of felt used a bit.  That all you see us as are objects to be played.”

“No,” Eliot disagreed.

“No way.  Just because we looked?”

“We’re guys.”

“Well, we’re girls.”

Nate was still pacing up and down in front of them.  He looked up at the four of them, like they were squaring off into camps. He had to solve this before they could move forward.  As he raised his head, his eyes fell on Sophie’s. She turned her head to the side and sighed.

“Don’t do that,” she complained.

“Do what?”

His eyes widened in surprise, not knowing what she complained about.

“That,” Parker declared.  “That look you get.”

“What look?” Eliot said, eyes narrowing.

“Now you’re doing it,” Sophie told the hitter.

Hardison shook his head back and forth.

“He’s doing it too.”

“Doing what, Parker?”

“That cute, innocent look you get. Drives me crazy.”

“Crazy as in good crazy, or bad crazy?”

“Both.”

Nate put his hands in his pockets as he watched the byplay.  Eliot’s arms were crossed. Sophie licked her lips, eying him as she did it.  Parker sat there, face blank.  They were all doing it.  They all were manipulating the situation and didn’t know they were.  Or they knew they were and didn’t care.

“Where are we going with this?” Eliot said.

“We know each other too well.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Why?”

“Nate, that’s why we work so well together. If we don’t know what the other is thinking, then it could mean the difference between life and death.”

Sophie was right.  It could mean that.  And it could mean that they all were on each other’s nerves.

“We could split up for a few weeks,” he suggested.

“Nah, man.”

“No.”

“I don’t think that’s the correct strategy.”

“What part about not leaving did you not understand?”

They each did not want to leave.  At least that was established.

“Truth or dare,” Parker yelled.

“Truth or dare?” Eliot looked at her strangely.

“Yeah, we could play truth or dare.  Maybe we don’t know each other as well as we thought we did.”

“Maybe,” Nate drew out.

“That settles that.  Tonight.  No holds barred Truth or Dare.”

They all were in.  Maybe it would solve some of the tension between the five of them to just be with one another.  Or maybe it would drive a wedge between them that couldn’t be erased.

 

“You think this will work?” Nate asked Sophie as he stood in his bedroom, looking down at the street below.

“It could.  We all seem preoccupied.”

“Sophie, I want to apologize.”

“For what?  Oh, that.  You were stressed. I was stressed.  Not our finest hour.”

“Is this what this is about?  The fact that the two of us can’t even figure out …”

He didn’t want to say it.  They’d been dancing around each other for so long, if they’d drawn the younger team members in because of what happened in their off hours, then he really couldn’t fix any of it.

“We’re adults.  Most of the time.”

“Some of the time.”

As he stood looking down into her eyes, he wondered if he could do this, being an adult thing that she so wanted him to do. 

“Truth or dare, Nate.  What will we find out about you?”

“Challenge accepted.”

 

Hardison had set up the common room with five comfortable chairs, in a circle. 

“Enough alcohol?” Eliot asked.

“With all these repressed people? There’s no way any of them is gonna give anything up sober.”

Eliot was worried this was the wrong way to go about this, but he didn’t have any other plan in place.

“I also made up questions.”

“Dammit, Hardison.”

Just what they needed.  Nate’s control issues were gonna be difficult enough to deal with in addition to Parker’s craziness.  Now Hardison had to go and make it a game?

“It’s not a game,” Hardison started.  Of course he’d know what Eliot was thinking. “Ice breaker.”

“Hey, let’s do this,” Parker said as she grabbed the popcorn bowl.

Eliot watched as Sophie and Nate came down the steps.

“They either had sex,” Eliot grinned.

“Or didn’t because that does not look like a happy face on that man.”

They all sat in a circle as Hardison took out the cards he had made and put them on the table directly in front of them.

“You can either take a question to answer about yourself or you can dare someone to reveal something about him or herself.”

“That’s not truth or dare,” Eliot told the hacker.

“We are not gonna be jumping off buildings tonight. Got it?”

Parker just bounced her head back and forth. Yeah, Hardison was right.  Parker would put the screws to them all if she wanted.

“I’ll go first,” Eliot said, taking a card as he did.

He could see them all tense up, like he was going to do something stupid. He’d show them. He wanted this to work out.  He truly did.

“What is the one thing you could change about someone in this room or what would you change about yourself? Seriously, Hardison?”

“Just answer the question.”

Why’d he have to get the difficult question? There were so many things he’d like to change about each and every one of them in the room.

“Belief that everything will go as planned.  I plan for every contingency. That’s my job.  But sometimes I want things to go wrong.  I want to be the one to save you. Any of you. It’s sick.  I know.  That’s what I do.”

“You want to trust us?” Sophie asked gently.

“I trust you.  I wouldn’t still be here if I didn’t. It’s me that I don’t trust.”

“No matter what your job is…” Nate started.

“I know.  I’m always a part of the team.  My one job is to make sure none of you die, or are hurt.”

“It’s a burden.”

“It’s what I do, Nate.  Never a burden.  Remember that.”

“This is too much like therapy,” Parker pointed out.

“You don’t have to be so serious, mama.”

Eliot growled back at Hardison.

“Or be mean about it.”

“Whatever.”

“My turn,” Parker said. “We are going counterclockwise, so my turn.”

No one decided to challenge that.

“At what time did you think we were a team or what role do you play in making the team whole?”

Nate slammed his booze-laced coffee down at that.  Eliot decided that he might have to get liquored up too if this kept up.  Even Sophie was drinking her wine much faster than normal.

“When we broke out of that hospital. Remember?  We each did something we knew how to do and no one questioned it.”

“You threw up on my shoes.”

“Yeah, Hardison. I got us out of there.  But I couldn’t do it without each of you.  Sophie wasn’t around, but still.  Possibly when we first sat around in Hardison’s loft, planning on taking Dubenich down. That was fun.  Oh, the gloat on that.  Meeting in the park too.”

They each smiled, reliving that time so long ago when they first met, trying to figure out where they were going with it all.

“I thought I just had to steal stuff.  I learned that I had other roles.”

“Parker, you don’t have to answer both questions.”

“But I want to.  Alec, I always thought I was just a thief.  Now I can be whatever I want to be.  I can be a grifter.  I can hit, well, I mean tase with the best of them. I can plan a con.  I can do just about anything.  But I can’t do it without your help.  So there.”

Sophie had tears in her eyes, looking at each one of them as she did.  Nate had been the one to always bring them back together, but he couldn’t look at them right at that point.  Eliot was worried about him the most.  What would he have done differently?

“My turn,” Hardison said as he drew a card.

“What was your highest moment and lowest moment or what were the team’s highest and lowest moments?”

Eliot rolled his eyes at this. He knew exactly what his highests and lowests were.

“My highest was stealing every single penny from Dubenich and then some. Without that, we would not be sitting here right now.  Remember that, folks.  My lowest was watching each of you suffer. Not fun, man.  I wish I could fix it all.  I can fix just about anything, tech, your IDs, anything you can ask.  I can’t fix y’all.  I wish I could.  Of course, maybe we wouldn’t be a team if we was all fixed.  The highest is when we became a team. The lowest was when we didn’t trust each other.  We gotta trust each other.   Yeah, so yeah.”

“I trust you,” Parker whispered.

“I know you do.  But everyone’s gotta trust everyone.”

Another drink by Nate, another sip by Sophie. Eliot finished his beer and grabbed another. Parker started to drink her own wine while Hardison nursed his beer, looking at the condensation as he did.

“I guess that means I’m next.”

Sophie drew a card, frowning as she read the question to herself.  Eliot was wondering if someone would get a question that would be too much, reveal too much about themselves or what they thought about the team or each member. Was now the time?

“Which team member aggravates you the most or which team member do you love the most? What do you love about yourself in regards to each member of the team?”

“What I meant by that last question was how do you relate to it?”

“I know. I get it Hardison.”

Sophie laughed a little. It was a nervous laugh, probably directed mostly at Nate, who decided to pour himself more whiskey as he looked down at the floor.

“I might not answer this the way you want, Hardison.”

“Shoot.”

“I love that Eliot cares so deeply for us that he’d give his life for us. Not that we all wouldn’t do that.  It’s just I think on a visceral level. It just gets me.  I love that Hardison is so kind.  You know so much, on so many levels, which I don’t think any one of us even realizes.  You know what we need even when we don’t know it.  Does that make any sense?”

Hardison shook his head yes.

“I love it when Parker discovers something about the world or about herself.  It’s like art, where you keep seeing something different in a painting no matter how many times you look at it.  You keep evolving, Parker.  It’s so wonderful to see that happen.”

Parker looked happy at what Sophie had said, grinning from ear to ear. Nate smiled for a moment, but by the look on his face, knew what was coming.

“If aggravation and love could describe someone, it would be Nathan Ford.  You aggravate the hell out of me, sometimes Nate. Always have. You’re too smart for your own good. You feel so deeply, you can’t pull your head out of your ass.”

He frowned her way.

“You think you’re just the biggest jerk this side of the pond.”

“Well, he is,” they all said in unison.

“Well, you’re our jerk.  Your control issues are sometimes insurmountable.”

“You’re telling us,” Parker mumbled.

His hands started shaking.

“You’ve gotten us into more trouble in these past few years than I’ve ever gotten myself into, that’s for sure.  You push, you pull, you gloat, you yell. Dammit, there’s been sometimes when I’ve wanted to punch you myself.  And you always ask yourself why we stay?  You’ve shown us that there is still some good left in this world, even though we’d all just love to curl up and hide away somewhere.  We all took a chance on you four years ago.  And I think we were right.  You were right. We have made a difference. And it’s all your damn fault. You made us care.  You made us love each other, even though at first we all wanted to take the money and run.  You are the most aggravating man I have ever met. Keep it that way. I still want to reserve the right to punch you though.”

They each laughed a little at that, even Nate.

“My turn?”

As he turned over the card, Eliot could see the look of what the hell on his face. He knew the mastermind too well.  What did Hardison sneak in there that would make that look appear?

“What does the future look like for each of us and what would you like to do in the future?”

Nate tossed the question to the floor, knowing that this one would be the most difficult for Nate to answer.  His controlling nature and plans always had contingencies.  What would he say to that kind of question?

“Future? That I hope we have one. That I hope that I don’t dig a hole so deep any of you can’t get out.  That I don’t have to revert to plan double zz any time soon.  That I decide to end this before anyone gets too seriously hurt.  I want each of you to be happy.  I can’t give any of you a future. You have to make it yourself.  I’m not sure sometimes if sticking with me is worth all that.  I do know one thing, the one thing that makes me the happiest.  That you are my family.  That’ll never change, no matter what.  Also, any time you want to wear that dress again, Soph.”

“Oh Nate,” she bickered back.

“You were gonna spill out of that,” Eliot noted.

“Not like we couldn’t help but notice.”

“You’re all perverts.”

“You decided to wear it.”

“Parker, you agreed.  We were performing an experiment.  You all acted like men.”

“That’s what we are.”

“Doesn’t matter.  We’re people first.”

“Ok, ok. No more ogling team members.  Alright?”

They all shook their heads in agreement.

“I mean, we can appreciate each other,” Sophie added. “I most certainly don’t want Nate to stop wearing those suits.”

“I don’t get it,” Eliot pointed out.

“No, you don’t.  Thank goodness.”

Parker snorted at Sophie’s comment.  “Because she knows what’s underneath,” Parker said out of the corner of her mouth.

Nate narrowed his eyes at Parker.  “Parker, you wanna share?”

“No. Not at all,” she answered in that voice she had when she knew she was busted.

They all sat around bickering amongst themselves, acting a little more in tune. There were even a few dares thrown in at the last minute, but nothing that any of them couldn’t handle. 

Eliot wondered if this had been a great idea that they all would go to their neutral corners and seethe. None of them did, even if Nate sometimes seemed like he did.  Whatever was going on with him and Sophie wouldn’t solve itself soon.  But if they were all on more even ground, then so be it.  There were too many variables in play right then.  He knew in his bones the next few months could be pivotal.  Why, he’d never know until it happened. Future?  Eliot just wanted to make it to next week.

 

“Aggravating?”

“Yes, all the time.”

“That’s what I am?”

“Yes,” Sophie growled back.  “Definitely right now.  I’m proving my point.”

He held her tight against him, not letting her move much at all.  His fingers slowly inched their way down her stomach.  She had one leg hitched over his thigh, spooning up against him.  He’d already thrust hard inside her, but didn’t move, holding her tight so that she couldn’t.

“Nate,” she finally whined.

“Remember what happened the last time?”

“Most definitely.  Not my fault you went too soon.”

“Considering how you’re…” Nate groaned as she squeezed him tight, the feeling of him pulling out just slightly.

His fingers brushed up lightly against her wetness, making her gasp.  With her gasp, he smoothly slid back and forth a few times.  Then he stopped again.

“You’ve proven your point.”

“How so?” he asked.

“Right now, if you do not move, I will take matters into my own hands.”

“I dare you.”

Sophie laughed as she ground her backside against him, hearing him groan her name as she did.

It all had started with that damn game, had ended when everyone had decided they’d had enough sharing, except for Sophie and Nate.  She had helped him clean up the mess that they all had made.  Dishes turned into a water fight, which turned into Sophie leaning over the counter, grinding into him. Stumbling upstairs, they both made it into the room before all their clothes were off. 

He had wrestled her to the bed, pinning her arms above while he worked his way down her body, hearing her squeal as he licked and bit in places where he knew would make her squirm.  She, in turn, did the same to him, except for the squealing part.  It had been more than a week between when they’d been together, so she was ready to make him pay. Coming hard and fast was all she wanted after the week of foreplay and arguing. 

She fell fast asleep in his arms, only to awaken him in the early hours by fitting herself directly against his front. She told him she was sleeping, but he didn’t believe any of it and wanted her to suffer, at least a little bit. He could feel her fingers join his, to brush up against him as he slightly pulled out. He wasn’t going to last much longer if she did this, so he crowded her hand out of the way with his own.

“Control freak.”

“You bet.”

She always got him into positions where she’d most benefit.  That he didn’t mind because he always benefitted from her inventiveness. 

He couldn’t wait any longer, much as he wanted to prolong this.  She was moving in slight ways, squeezing him, letting him know she knew exactly what was going to drive him crazy.  He relented, started to move, thrusting deep and hard as his fingers stroked through her wetness.  He held her tight as her body bowed against his, as his thrusts became more erratic until he reached his peak too, not long after she did.

As they both settled again, Nate held her tight, breathing in her warm skin as his fingers lightly traced her shoulders and neck.

“Can we keep doing this?”

“What? What we just did? I certainly hope so,” Sophie answered, turning in his arms.

“No. I mean, the team.  Things seem too tense.”

“I think what we did helped.”

“I don’t take you for granted. Know that.”

Nate knew he needed to change the way he dealt with all of them, definitely with Sophie.  They meant too much to him.  The thing with Latimer was coming to a head.  He wondered if they would survive, but he’d do everything in his power to make sure they all were safe in the end.


End file.
